From freezing peas to pickling everything, the sharpest cooking tips from 16 of the restaurant chefs who rocked the Edible Schoolyard NYC spring benefit.

Last night's Edible Schoolyard NYC Spring Benefit left us full, happy, and inspired. In addition to getting amped up about spring (morel mushrooms and asparagus are, apparently, where it's at), we left wanting learn from the chefs about how we could make their style food at home. So we asked them: How can we cook your food, in our homes? Turns out, they're not just great cooks—they're fantastic teachers as well.

Daniel Krieger

"Try using toasted nuts and seeds—like the savory granola we made for our lobster salad—as a garnish. Spice blends like dukkah are also a good place to start." —Michael Anthony, Gramercy Tavern

The Dish: Lobster salad with spinach and savory granola

Daniel Krieger

"We buy fresh peas, shuck them, blanch them, and then freeze them. We keep them all year long so that when spring comes we can use them in soup. They are a burst of flavor and remind everyone of spring!" —Gavin Kaysen, Cafe Boulud

"You have to shop well. Buy good ingredients. And don't go beyond your skill set—you're going to want to be able to socialize." —Jonathan Benno, Lincoln Ristorante

The Dish: Biscotti

Daniel Krieger

"My style of food is not that scary—I don't use chemicals or crazy ingredients you can't find. And we pickle a ton, like pineapple. You can pickle just about anything. It adds a layer of acidity and brightness, and you can leave it in the fridge forever." —Joaquin Baca, Brooklyn Star

The Dish: Smoked pickled pineapple, jicama, serranos, cilantro

Daniel Krieger

"The [goat] meat is absolutely delicious straight out of the roasting pan, and would make for an impressive Sunday night meal with some roasted potatoes and a vinegary salad. It's total 'set it and forget it'–style cooking and, and you can even surprise your friends and family. [They're going to say], 'This is goat!?'" —Brooks Headley, Del Posto

The Dish: Braised goat agnolotti with carrot and berbere

Daniel Krieger

"All of our dishes are riddled with dried chiles—you can make your own, too. [Commercial] red pepper flakes are like white noise heat. Making your own gives heat and flavor, and you can use them for more than just Mexican food." —Alex Stupak, Empellon

"Cooking with a cast-iron pan gives you an incomparable crust, for both vegetables and meat. To clean ours, we just douse it in oil and salt, burn it out, then wipe it clean." —*Justin Smillie, Il Buco & Vineria* **

"If you want to cook rabbit at home, be sure not to overcook it—it's a very lean meat. You could braise it; that would help. And balance the leanness with fat, like with a classic French mustard cream sauce." —Anita Lo, Annisa

The Dish: Black sea bass sashimi, trout roe, yuzu pearls, and shiso

Daniel Krieger

For this event, we have to make our dishes at a small station setup instead of a full kitchen. It's important for us to plan ahead and figure out our limitations. It sounds simple, but it's a big part of cooking at home, too. When you're trying out a new dish or cooking for a large group, planning each step ahead of time will help you avoid making many mistakes." —David Chang, Momofuku

The Dish: Roasted baby beets, sunflower hozon, duck prosciutto

Daniel Krieger

"Moisten the polenta before putting it into the liquid. That helps, but you really are just going to have to whisk it a lot. And listen: There's polenta, and then there's polenta. Don't buy instant polenta—that's nonsense. We buy ours from Anson Mills. —Tom Colicchio, Craft

The Dish: Porchetta: milk-fed pork, polenta, bitter greens, bacon jus

Daniel Krieger

"You can use oats like you would use any other grain. They're not just breakfast." —Frederik Berselius, Aska

The Dish: Oats and onions

Daniel Krieger

"Listen to your grandmother…and listen to the Franks when they say our book is an easy guide to simply the finest. Oh, and check out this video." —Frank Falcinelli, Prime Meats

The Dish: Vitello tonnato

Daniel Krieger

Home cooks should practice their dish as much as possible. Practice, practice, practice. —RichTorrisi, Torrisi Italian Specialties